[blog] churros are fried until they become crunchy, and may be sprinkled with sugar

In anticipation of Halo Infinite, I’ve decided to play a bunch of Halos.



In a lot of ways this game aged incredibly well: the fun and wobbly warthog, the weapon variety, the aggressive AI, the wide-open green fields like the Windows XP wallpaper. The new graphics of the anniversary treatment only makes it better.

But there are some rough spots still, mainly how big, empty, and without any guidance some parts of it feel. It's nice to drive around a big mountain with a blue sky, not so nice to walk for many minutes in a huge metal hallway.

The idea of a ring-shaped planet is really cool, the designs of the alien races, and an AI partner that acts like a human being, the blank slate yet badass main character, all great. But the story itself, it's poorly told. I wanted to care, but it was hard to get what's really was going on without resorting to a YouTube video.

Sadly, no compass or a map, and no sprint button. Oh, and the main theme is the best song of the OST by far, it's awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jXTBAGv9ZQ

Result: completed (8h 55m)

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ good controls
+ ai aged well
+ level design variety
+ sticky grenades
+ vehicles
+ memorable sound effects

Cons:
- ost can feel out of place
- terrible platforming section at the end
- no map or compass
- some places feels too big
- no sprint button

Screenshots:


Welcome to the field.


Run!



A really impressive sequel, everything feels bigger and better. Flying combat vehicles and dual-wielding weapons are the best. The anniversary treatment here feels even more impressive, the FMV cutscenes are gorgeous.

But the best part is the introduction of the Arbiter character. While most of the story beats it's still poorly told, the Arbiter character arc was well done. It was the only character that I really cared about as the story unfolded.

The game ends with a cliffhanger, which I feel that it probably sucked for people at the time, but since I'm immediately jumping to Halo 3 after beating it, it's all good with me.

Sadly, still no compass or a map, and no sprint button. Main theme still the best, this time with a guitar version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCxv2daOwjQ

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ dual-wielding
+ level design variety
+ flying vehicles
+ arbiter character arc
+ beautiful cutscenes
+ good graphics
+ good ost

Cons:
- no map or compass
- no sprint button

Screenshots:


2004.


2014.



Everything is big and better. Another great sequel, this time with one generation jump.

Sniping guns are more useful than ever. New ways to control the field with bubble shields and new grenade types. Impressive set pieces and huge battles on the campaign. The story still poorly told, and no real interesting character is introduced, feels like a rehash of what was already told.

Finally, I can properly see the health bar now, it's bigger and in the middle of the screen. Main theme still the best, this time with a piano version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiIltLoN-6Q

Sadly, still no compass or a map, and no sprint button.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ epic battles
+ engaging combat
+ weapon variety
+ vehicle variety
+ scarab fights
+ end game escape sequence
+ good ost

Cons:
- fragile vehicles
- bad checkpoints

Screenshots:


I want a racing mini-game.


Partners now.



The game starts really well. It has beautiful graphics and you can immediately see the improvements on the gameplay, like the crosshair indication of the bullet spread, the more visible hud with a helmet feel, and finally a sprint button.

However, the story is more convoluted than ever, with the introduction of 'Prometheans' now. I hate everything about them, the way they teleport, how bullet spongey they are, their terrible weapons, the boring scenarios where you fight them.

The chatty (and now 'human') Master Chief and the overly emotional Cortana don't work at all. I'm not sure if it was an attempt of a soft reboot, but these two characters worked way better in the previous games.

Result: completed

Rating: 6/10

Pros:
+ sprint button
+ beautiful graphics
+ hud improvements
+ improved crosshair

Cons:
- Prometheans enemies
- Prometheans weapons
- indoors section
- repetitive
- bad level design
- convoluted story
- Master Chief and Cortana dialogues

Screenshots:


Looking good.


You can see details of the Master Chief visor on the HUD, maybe some Metroid Prime inspiration.

I have not finished 4, and I never will! Haha! But 1, 2 and 3 were great. I am happy to see you playing these games. My personal favorite is 2

I have not finished 4, and I never will! Haha! But 1, 2 and 3 were great. I am happy to see you playing these games. My personal favorite is 2

You are not missing much. I think 2 is my favorite too, and 3 is a close second. From the 4 games I've played, Halo 2 was the only one that made me care about the plot.

I'm excited about Infinite. The wide-open chaotic battlefields are the best part of this franchise IMO, and looks like Infinite will focus a lot on that.

It's minimalism in every aspect: the easy on the eyes color palette, the footsteps sound while there's no background music, the lack of faces.

It's not engaging, not puzzling, not funny, not challenging. It's just an artistic odd 'thing' and the games knows it, it's very short. I like it.

Result: completed (7m)

Rating: 7/10

Screenshots:


A Firm Handshake.


Some Frogger inspiration.

Charming short RPG Maker. For such a short game, it's noticeable the care and effort put into it. The intro animation and the one shown on TV are lovely. I also love the classic gameboy look and sound.

Result: completed (25m)

Rating: 8/10

A museum simulator for Radiohead works that it's probably only interesting to fans of the band (which I am). It's really weird, as expected. Some of the scenery is gorgeous and creative, some are just underdeveloped and not that interesting.

I've liked it overall, but the best part was a little room with a TV playing a video clip of the band (I've watched the entire thing). That's not much of a praise when you can get the same quicker on YouTube.

Result: completed (35m)

Rating: 7/10

Screenshots:


This is not a static image, it's a forest that you can actually walk through and move the camera around.


Don't... cry... little guy..?


Fancy logo.

Once in a while, I try a game that doesn't seem to be for me. This is such a game, it's more concerned with being artistic than fun.

Guess what? I've liked it a lot. After the first act I was hooked, I was impressed by how fun it was to customize my character looks, I've loved all the silly dialog. Even the little gameplay thing resembling a Simon toy was great.

The part that I've really didn't like was how it overuses the guitar. You are always playing an electric guitar, and it seems that it is always the same over-dramatic tune. I would appreciate moments with more calm songs and with other instruments. In other words, I would prefer to be a game about music rather than being a game about the electric guitar.

Oh and a learning curve instead of a learning flat line would be great.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ character customization
+ great voice acting
+ characters personality
+ beautiful scenery
+ funny writing

Cons:
- repetitive music
- too little gameplay
- wonky platforming

Screenshots:


I would ask the same.


Looking good.

I absolutely loved every BIT.TRIP RUNNER (or just "Runner" now I guess) they've made, but I don't like this one so much.

Unlike the other games, in this one you have to rely on the symbols on the screen to make the music (and progress on the stage). This allows incredibly complex stages but it throws away all the magic, the whole point was playing a platform game and by coincidence making music while doing so. This one is the other way around, you are pretty much playing a rhythm game.

It's impressive how they've added another layer of complexity on top of the symbols on the screen, you can also play extra notes according to whatever is on the background. Problem is that it has a too steep a difficulty curve to be fun.

The presentation is nice and I like the music and characters, I just wished it was more fun to play.

Oh, and I couldn't care less about the League of Legends thing. Fingers crossed for the next game being a Runner4.

Result: retired

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ fun music
+ fun character design
+ polished intro animation

Cons:
- convoluted game screen
- uneven difficulty curve
- excessive difficult to get some collectibles
- no extra game modes

A beat 'em up game with a great hand-drawn art style, reminds me of Skullgirls or anything from Thunder Lotus Games.

Plays really nice, enemies are well animated, combos are simple but fun, dodging is consistent, and best of all you can juggle enemies in the air.

The problem is they made the game really grindy and it plays a bit like a roguelike. You start really weak, play and earn some currency, die, buy new moves/upgrade existing, new run. That would be fine if each run produced a decent amount of currency (respecting my time).

I've managed to beat it with the first character and I was eager to play with another one, but starting from scratch with zero upgrades on a new character is asking too much. It's really a bummer, part of the fun on a beat 'em up is beating it with all the characters.

Result: completed

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ beautiful art style
+ fun combos
+ juggling enemies
+ comic book style storytelling

Cons:
- grindy
- repetitive music
- too many currencies

Screenshots:


The crew.


Boss fight.


Comic book style story. Those were great, I wish there was more of it.

I've started this game with low expectations: I don't like point and click games (too easy to get stuck plus frustrating solutions) and the amount of criticism I've seen out there didn't help.

I like it, I'm glad I've played it.

I did get stuck at two moments in the game, but I've managed to overcome it by getting a hint on Reddit. Luckily, it didn't spoil anything, I got exactly the hint I've needed and nothing else. For all the expected frustration I've mentioned, it wasn't so bad.

I love the fact that the game is so small. Small apartment, quick game loop, lots of interaction combinations. I was always eager to try something different once I've messed up my current loop.

The voice acting is great as expected (but the famous names attached to the game feel more like a marketing thing). There's little music, but the one on the opening was quite pleasant.

The ending was a mixed bag, but it didn't ruin my experience.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ easy to get started
+ great voice acting
+ multiple combinations to try out
+ unique game
+ fun to be creative

Cons:
- easy to get stuck
- disappointing ending

A beat 'em up game with a great hand-drawn art style, reminds me of Skullgirls or anything from Thunder Lotus Games.

Plays really nice, enemies are well animated, combos are simple but fun, dodging is consistent, and best of all you can juggle enemies in the air.

The problem is they made the game really grindy and it plays a bit like a roguelike. You start really weak, play and earn some currency, die, buy new moves/upgrade existing, new run. That would be fine if each run produced a decent amount of currency (respecting my time).

I've managed to beat it with the first character and I was eager to play with another one, but starting from scratch with zero upgrades on a new character is asking too much. It's really a bummer, part of the fun on a beat 'em up is beating it with all the characters.

Result: completed

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ beautiful art style
+ fun combos
+ juggling enemies
+ comic book style storytelling

Cons:
- grindy
- repetitive music
- too many currencies

Screenshots:


The crew.


Boss fight.


Comic book style story. Those were great, I wish there was more of it.

Tunche artstyle is lovely! Unfortunately, it looks a little grindy like you talked about it.

Is this game brazilian? I've seen the "Boutu" boss screenshot and I can't help but think about "Boto cor-de-rosa" :P

Tunche artstyle is lovely! Unfortunately, it looks a little grindy like you talked about it.

Is this game brazilian? I've seen the "Boutu" boss screenshot and I can't help but think about "Boto cor-de-rosa" :P

Yeah... it's really unfortunate how grindy they made the game.

I also thought it to be Brazilian at first glance due to the Amazon setting, but it's actually from Peru.

Short little game about exploration and cleaning the planet taken by "the gunk". I love to say the name "the gunk" for some reason.

Its art style reminds me of Psychonauts 2. It's isn't that wacky and overly cartoonish, but it has that "Dreamworks look". Thing Antz instead of A Bug's Life.

I wish it was more like Sable, deeper and creative exploration and no combat. Instead, it's just shallow exploration and (even more) shallow combat. Thankfully, the game understands that and makes it up with its relatable characters, easy to follow plot, beautiful scenery, and short game length.

Since it's easy and short, but still requires you to jump, aim, and control the camera with the right analog stick, I think it's a great entry point for someone getting used to modern gaming controls.

Result: completed (4h 26m)

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ beautiful scenery
+ fun dialog
+ relatable characters
+ ambient soundtrack

Cons:
- boring combat
- shallow mechanics


Such a beautiful sky.


A lot of pink.


Enter the Matrix.

(whoops)

I've started this game with low expectations: I don't like point and click games (too easy to get stuck plus frustrating solutions) and the amount of criticism I've seen out there didn't help.

I like it, I'm glad I've played it.

I did get stuck at two moments in the game, but I've managed to overcome it by getting a hint on Reddit. Luckily, it didn't spoil anything, I got exactly the hint I've needed and nothing else. For all the expected frustration I've mentioned, it wasn't so bad.

I love the fact that the game is so small. Small apartment, quick game loop, lots of interaction combinations. I was always eager to try something different once I've messed up my current loop.

The voice acting is great as expected (but the famous names attached to the game feel more like a marketing thing). There's little music, but the one on the opening was quite pleasant.

The ending was a mixed bag, but it didn't ruin my experience.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ easy to get started
+ great voice acting
+ multiple combinations to try out
+ unique game
+ fun to be creative

Cons:
- easy to get stuck
- disappointing ending

Nice review on 12 minutes and thanks for directing me here. Will check back on your blog.

Nice review on 12 minutes and thanks for directing me here. Will check back on your blog.

Thanks for passing by!

I try my best despite not being a native English speaker.

Welcome to the first-ever top 10 objectively best games of the year by churros 2021 edition!

This year was awesome. Considering all the delays and how packed with games 2022 is, some people looked down on 2021. Not me, having 5 games with a 10/10 rating. During 2021, I've played 45 games released in 2021, and here are the top 10 objectively best of them:


#10 Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection
I'm probably the only one, but I find this game beautiful. Everything feels so iconic about it, and this is coming from someone that has zero nostalgia for the franchise. Gladly, there are multiple difficulty options and I won't pretend I'm good at this game.


#9 Recompile
It started out so weird and uninteresting, but when you start progressing in the game your character improves on the best possible thing in a video game: movement. I love so much just jumping around on this world, despite it looking like a game prototype.


#8 WarioWare: Get It Together!
What can I say, it's a WarioWare game, instantly gets some love from me. While I think the multiple character idea worked better on paper than on the game itself, I had a lot of fun playing this over and over again (as usual).


#7 Shin Megami Tensei V
This was my first Shin Megami Tensei game and I think I love this series now. I also think Pokemon is forever ruined, this is so much better. Light on story, deep on combat, couldn't be better.


#6 Super Mombo Quest
Surprise of the year. Grabbed it from the new releases page on Steam without really knowing anything about it. This game controls and flows like a dream, such a hidden gem.


#5 Cyber Shadow
There are a lot of sprite-based side scroller indie games out there, but none that I've played so far came close to the flawless masterpiece that is Cyber Shadow. Length, difficulty, progression, music, sound, animation, theme. Wait... this should be number 1!


#4 Monster Hunter Rise
The charisma and style of Rise make Monster Hunter World look like a generic soulless over realistic game. I've liked World, but now I can say that I absolutely love Monster Hunter again. I just wish it was a little more difficult (fingers crossed for the DLC being harder). Oh, and the soundtrack, it's beautiful.


#3 Resident Evil Village
This game is a rollercoaster from beggining to end. It's ambitious, changing its playstyle (and sometimes even genre) at every section. It's been a while since I've immersed myself as a protagonist in a wild adventure like this (strong Half-Life 1 memories here).


#2 Sable
It's a game about a weird but not over-the-top world. A game in which half of the dialog boxes are the protagonist talking with itself. A game where you glide freely in a literal bubble. A game that knows when to show you, and knows when to tell you. I want to replay this game and write a thousand-word review on it.


#1 Metroid Dread
My god, they did it. Somehow the OK combat of the Metroid franchise is now the star of the show. I've beaten 100% of this game in two sittings (I'm a coward, I've gone to sleep between the days). I've never wanted so bad to immediately start a new playthrough of a game just after beating it as I did with this one. Easily one of my favorite games of all time.

Correction: how could I forget about Megaten V!?

Welcome to the first-ever top 10 objectively best games of the year by churros 2021 edition!

This year was awesome. Considering all the delays and how packed with games 2022 is, some people looked down on 2021. Not me, having 5 games with a 10/10 rating. During 2021, I've played 45 games released in 2021, and here are the top 10 objectively best of them:


#10 Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection
I'm probably the only one, but I find this game beautiful. Everything feels so iconic about it, and this is coming from someone that has zero nostalgia for the franchise. Gladly, there are multiple difficulty options and I won't pretend I'm good at this game.


#9 Recompile
It started out so weird and uninteresting, but when you start progressing in the game your character improves on the best possible thing in a video game: movement. I love so much just jumping around on this world, despite it looking like a game prototype.


#8 WarioWare: Get It Together!
What can I say, it's a WarioWare game, instantly gets some love from me. While I think the multiple character idea worked better on paper than on the game itself, I had a lot of fun playing this over and over again (as usual).


#7 Shin Megami Tensei V
This was my first Shin Megami Tensei game and I think I love this series now. I also think Pokemon is forever ruined, this is so much better. Light on story, deep on combat, couldn't be better.


#6 Super Mombo Quest
Surprise of the year. Grabbed it from the new releases page on Steam without really knowing anything about it. This game controls and flows like a dream, such a hidden gem.


#5 Cyber Shadow
There are a lot of sprite-based side scroller indie games out there, but none that I've played so far came close to the flawless masterpiece that is Cyber Shadow. Length, difficulty, progression, music, sound, animation, theme. Wait... this should be number 1!


#4 Monster Hunter Rise
The charisma and style of Rise make Monster Hunter World look like a generic soulless over realistic game. I've liked World, but now I can say that I absolutely love Monster Hunter again. I just wish it was a little more difficult (fingers crossed for the DLC being harder). Oh, and the soundtrack, it's beautiful.


#3 Resident Evil Village
This game is a rollercoaster from beggining to end. It's ambitious, changing its playstyle (and sometimes even genre) at every section. It's been a while since I've immersed myself as a protagonist in a wild adventure like this (strong Half-Life 1 memories here).


#2 Sable
It's a game about a weird but not over-the-top world. A game in which half of the dialog boxes are the protagonist talking with itself. A game where you glide freely in a literal bubble. A game that knows when to show you, and knows when to tell you. I want to replay this game and write a thousand-word review on it.


#1 Metroid Dread
My god, they did it. Somehow the OK combat of the Metroid franchise is now the star of the show. I've beaten 100% of this game in two sittings (I'm a coward, I've gone to sleep between the days). I've never wanted so bad to immediately start a new playthrough of a game just after beating it as I did with this one. Easily one of my favorite games of all time.

I enjoyed reading your top 10. You made me want to play Sable and Cyber Shadow one day!

I haven't played Metroid Dread (or any metroid yet), but I almost thought that you're #1 game was a Digimon game. That image looks like a blue Omnimon or something.



It's not the same, but you can see some similarities - or maybe I just miss playing Digimon

I enjoyed reading your top 10. You made me want to play Sable and Cyber Shadow one day!

I haven't played Metroid Dread (or any metroid yet), but I almost thought that you're #1 game was a Digimon game. That image looks like a blue Omnimon or something.



It's not the same, but you can see some similarities - or maybe I just miss playing Digimon

Thank you, stay tuned for the next one next year!

Oh, you're not the only one missing playing Digimon. I have infinite nostalgia for the first Digimon World. The game is so cryptic and light on information on how its systems works, but poor 8-year old me couldn't stop playing anyway.

Maybe Digimon Survive grabs us again, who knows.

Thank you, stay tuned for the next one next year!

Oh, you're not the only one missing playing Digimon. I have infinite nostalgia for the first Digimon World. The game is so cryptic and light on information on how its systems works, but poor 8-year old me couldn't stop playing anyway.

Maybe Digimon Survive grabs us again, who knows.

I will!

Wow, that's right! I remember a friend of mine who always had the OG ones like Greymon or Birdramon. I always thought he was lying. All I had were Tyranomon , Monochromon using Agumon/Gabumon and Biyomon. After I grown up and read all the modifiers of what affects your next digivolve I was like: "Damn, I would never ever found out about it!"

I still think it's a great game. I remember being really hard and despite playing a number of times, only got to the final boss once. Bringing that damn Monochromon to the City was too hard, especially for people who couldn't read english :P

Who knows. I enjoyed other titles, but there's potential for a good Digimon game outside of gacha ones. Let's see :)

I will!

Wow, that's right! I remember a friend of mine who always had the OG ones like Greymon or Birdramon. I always thought he was lying. All I had were Tyranomon , Monochromon using Agumon/Gabumon and Biyomon. After I grown up and read all the modifiers of what affects your next digivolve I was like: "Damn, I would never ever found out about it!"

I still think it's a great game. I remember being really hard and despite playing a number of times, only got to the final boss once. Bringing that damn Monochromon to the City was too hard, especially for people who couldn't read english :P

Who knows. I enjoyed other titles, but there's potential for a good Digimon game outside of gacha ones. Let's see :)

I remember how happy I was the first time I've got a digivolution that didn't result in Sukamon (poo) or Numemon (slime). I think it was an Angemon.

I've never beaten that game, despite playing it dozens of hours of it and restarting my save god knows how many times.

Plays similar to Mega Man X, looks polished enough, I'm in.

Everything kills you with one hit, but you have a rechargeable rewind of 3 seconds to compensate for that. This made the game well-balanced, except for a couple of boss battles that I've found too hard. The main mechanic requires some getting used to, I can definitely see some people not liking it (some reviews on it are not so great).

The pixel art is beautiful, but at the same time, it lacks a sense of depth. I think it's because there is barely any shadowing on the sprites. But again, still beautiful. Animations are quite nice, they could maybe have a little more frames but it's easy to tell what's going on, which is crucial in such a fast-paced game.

I've enjoyed the dialogue of the main character with its sword, almost like a tongue-in-cheek Transistor. But unfortunately, at the very end of the game, it dumps a bunch of dialog at you to wrap up its story.

Motoi Sakuraba listed as the composer caught my attention (Dark Souls composer). While the music is good, it's nothing to write home about and lacks variety.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ time rewind
+ responsive controls
+ great boss fights
+ funny dialogs
+ no rpg elements

Cons:
- too short
- poor enemy variety
- exposition dump at the end

Screenshots:


That Plato's cave allegory/The Matrix movies theme is present throughout the game.


What is reality then, bro.


Ok, this one is not very philosophical.

Plays similar to Mega Man X, looks polished enough, I'm in.

Everything kills you with one hit, but you have a rechargeable rewind of 3 seconds to compensate for that. This made the game well-balanced, except for a couple of boss battles that I've found too hard. The main mechanic requires some getting used to, I can definitely see some people not liking it (some reviews on it are not so great).

The pixel art is beautiful, but at the same time, it lacks a sense of depth. I think it's because there is barely any shadowing on the sprites. But again, still beautiful. Animations are quite nice, they could maybe have a little more frames but it's easy to tell what's going on, which is crucial in such a fast-paced game.

I've enjoyed the dialogue of the main character with its sword, almost like a tongue-in-cheek Transistor. But unfortunately, at the very end of the game, it dumps a bunch of dialog at you to wrap up its story.

Motoi Sakuraba listed as the composer caught my attention (Dark Souls composer). While the music is good, it's nothing to write home about and lacks variety.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ time rewind
+ responsive controls
+ great boss fights
+ funny dialogs
+ no rpg elements

Cons:
- too short
- poor enemy variety
- exposition dump at the end

Screenshots:


That Plato's cave allegory/The Matrix movies theme is present throughout the game.


What is reality then, bro.


Ok, this one is not very philosophical.

I actually read "Hot. Boiling. MAGMA!" in the same pace as the main character in Steins;Gate says: "El. Psy. Kongroo!". I don't know why, but I had a good laugh hahaha

I saw an gameplay video to get a better picture and this game actually seems really solid! I will look foward to playing it one day. Seems good enough for the kind of games it tries to be

It's been a while since I've last played a dumb shooter where everything just goes boom. Medal of Honor was 80% off on Steam and it doesn't install Origin.

This game is soulless, everything is so generic. The game is more concerned with giving cool nicknames to the soldiers than developing their personalities, as expected. I'm an American guy shooting a bunch of Taliban on Afghanistan, I've forgotten how some of those games don't shy away from referencing real-world things.

It satisfied my desire of playing a stupid shooter from the Xbox 360 era, and that was just what I wanted.

Result: completed

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ graphics aged well
+ weapons controls well
+ balanced difficulty
+ machine guns

Cons:
- boring mission design
- forgettable story and characters
- too scripted

Screenshots:


Boom.


Boom again.


That's our cool looking oakley glasses wearing partner, a.k.a. the guy on the game cover.

A really challenging and rewarding game. It was almost a 10/10 for me, except that most bosses' attacks are really hard to read, which almost ruined the game. They do criminal things like starting the attack animation on top and the attack hit on the bottom. It's humanly impossible to react to that, it becomes a game of memorization which I've disliked.

But thankfully that was just with the bosses. I've seen people complaining about handling multiple enemies at once, basically mentioning how unfair it is. That was my favorite part of the game! The coolest fights involved controlling my space, running around, grabbing items on the scenario, parrying two guys at once, etc. Definitely had most of the fun while handling crowds.

The attention to detail is amazing, I didn't expect that on a brawling game I would explore so much of the scenario just to absorb everything around me. The museum level is visually one of the most memorable things I've ever seen in a video game.

I don't know how long it took for me to beat it, I guess 9 or 10 hours. Epic launcher shows 14, but I've left the game open for an entire afternoon by mistake, so it's beyond inaccurate now.

Result: completed

Rating: 8/10

Pros:
+ deep combat system
+ great environmental storytelling
+ interesting aging mechanic
+ visually memorable
+ attention to detail
+ museum level

Cons:
- poorly explained mechanics
- hard to predict bosses attacks
- camera doesn't work well when on corners

Screenshots:


Your typical vengeance plot.


Drug trafficking price table, a small example of how cool the environmental storytelling can be.


The game can look like a moving painting sometimes.